Less Than Perfect
by ShadesOfGreen84
Summary: Takes place early in the show. Derek is dating Meredith. Addison and Mark are still in New York. One night, Seattle Grace receives an unexpected visitor. Who is she and how does she change things? Slightly AU. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

The girl walked up the tree-lined path and into the hospital. She dropped the hood of her jacket, letting it fall back to hit the backpack she wore on her shoulders. She tightened her grip on the oversized duffel bag in her right hand. As she walked the water fell from her clothes, leaving a trail of wet footprints on the floor. She stopped at the information desk to ask for directions. Thanking the woman she headed towards the elevators. She stepped inside a crowded elevator, having to drop the bag to her feet, and hit the button for the surgical floor.

When the elevator stopped, she followed a young doctor out of it. He turned right, she went left. Spotting a desk, she headed towards it, hoping she'd find someone who could point her in the right direction. Reaching the abandoned desk, she dropped the duffel bag to the floor; finally, she was able to free her shoulders from the heavy weight of the packed backpack. She looked around, taking in the scene for the first time. She'd be seeing a lot of this place during the next few months. _'Unless I get sent back to New York'_ After her long day of traveling, and the drama of the last few days, she was exhausted. Yet, she was able to note with unusual clarity, the irony of the situation she found herself in. Here she was, of all places, in a hospital on the other side of the country. At sixteen, she never thought she'd be here, but then again her life was never what one would call 'storybook'; it had never been something anyone would desire to live. She should be back at Berkeley Prep, nestled in the Adirondacks, smoking cigarettes with her friends, the only family she'd ever really had. But she screwed herself out of that. She screwed herself out of a lot. Had she known this is where she'd end up, she never would have done all the things that had led to her expulsion from the best private boarding school in the country. She would have chosen that regimented hell-hole over this in a heartbeat.

Noticing the whiteboard posted on the wall a few feet away, she walked towards it and searched the list of names scheduled for surgeries that day. _'Three surgeries…what else is new? I'm gonna be here all freakin' night.' _ She sighed. Once again regretting her actions last week that resulted in her being sent her. She hated rain. She hated hospitals. And most of all she hated him. Her. Both of them. And it was mutual. She couldn't remember the last time they talked to her. They'd made a mistake with her, and there hadn't been a single minute since the day she was born that they'd make her think any differently.

"Can I help you?" Looking up, she saw the cute guy from the elevator. _'There's no way he's a surgeon. I'm betting on an intern, if that.' _

"I'm supposed to meet someone, but it looks like he'll be in surgery for awhile," she replied, gesturing towards the whiteboard.

He looked at the whiteboard, then back at her. Who was this kid? He'd never seen her before. It really didn't make sense that she'd be waiting for any of the doctors, but she didn't seem to be lying to him. "You're soaking wet. You have a change of clothes?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Well, at least I hope they're still dry. That storm is killer."

"That's Seattle for you."

"Yeah," she agreed. "So, is there some place I can change?"

"Sure, come on," he replied, picking up her duffel and carrying it for her. "I'm Alex, by the way."

"Aden. Nice to meet you, Alex."

Two hours later, she was in the waiting room, tired of watching the news and sore from sitting on the uncomfortable chairs. Pulling out an energy bar from her bag, she headed into the hall, wondering how much longer she'd have to wait. She spotted Alex standing near the desk with another male and a few females. All looked to be interns like Alex.

"Excuse me, Alex," she said, when she got within speaking distance.

"Aden. Hi," he replied, looking around. "Still waiting?"

She nodded. "Is there anyplace I can get something to drink?"

"There's a sandwich cart one floor down. Or the cafeteria." As they talked, the other interns looked on.

She thanked him and turned to walk away.

"You have enough for a drink?" Alex asked. Something about the girl called out to him. He didn't know anything about her other than her name, but he felt instantly connected to her. He wanted to help.

Turning back around she answered him. "Yeah, I'm good." _'I've got more than enough. That's the only thing they've ever done for me. Make sure I have enough money.' _"Do you want anything? Any of you?"

Alex shook his head. "No, thanks." Turning to his friends, he introduced them to the girl. "Everyone, this is Aden. Aden, this is everyone." Pointing as he went, he gave her their names. "George. Christina. Izzie. And Meredith." Aden stared a little longer at Meredith after she was introduced. She just barely managed to hide the name recognition.

"Aden?" The voice came from the dark haired man standing several yards down the hall. Looking down the hall, they were all surprised to see Derek Shepard. "Aden?" he repeated as he walked towards them. "What are you doing here?"

Aden looked uncomfortable. _'Here goes hell.' _"Hi, Derek."

"Aden," he repeated again, still in shock that she was standing here. "What--?" he trailed off, remembering who was standing next to them. He put a hand on her shoulder and led her down the hall, pulling her into the waiting room.

"Who is that?" Meredith asked, looking at Alex, who just shrugged.

"That's Aden," Dr. Webber said, stepping up behind them. "She's his daughter."


	2. Chapter 2

"What are you doing here, Aden?" Derek found himself asking again as he closed the door behind them. He had led her down the hall to the Chief of Surgery's office; he knew Richard wouldn't mind him borrowing the space for a few minutes. Derek was shocked; he barely recognized the girl in front of him. It wasn't that she looked different but this was the first time in well over a year he was laying eyes on her. Hell, he hadn't even talked to her in… god, he couldn't remember the last time. It was long before he left New York, of that he knew. And, he'd been in Seattle now for four months, moving here at the end of May. Had it really been that long since he said even two words to her?

He'd been in contact with her school; they sent him tuition bills on a monthly basis along with her latest test scores. She did well in school; she took advanced courses and had straight A's yet again. Her brains might have been the only thing Aden had ever got from her parents. That and her father's hair and her mother's eyes. They weren't close; it never seemed to bother Aden that they didn't talk for months at a time. Even when things were going well between him and Addison and they'd been living in the Brownstone in New York Aden never came home. She preferred school, even on long weekends, and that was just fine for Derek and Addison. It wasn't like they were ever home anyway.

Yet, here she was. In Seattle. In the middle of the afternoon on a school day. How the hell did she get here and why?

"Aden?" he asked again, frustrated, as she settled onto the couch.

"I take it Addison didn't call you?" she said, then muttered, "Figured she wouldn't."

"Your… your mother knew you were coming?" Derek stammered, sitting in Richard's chair facing her.

"Addison," she stressed, "knew I was coming, yes. She's the one that put me on the plane."

Derek was pissed. Who the hell did Addison think she was? Sending their daughter to Seattle without telling him. If things weren't bad enough between them, this just added more fuel to the fire. He'd be giving in and calling her tonight for the first time since he left New York to tell her everything he'd wanted to say since the night he caught her in bed with his best friend.

"Why? Aren't you supposed to be—?"

"I'm on a break from school," she interrupted.

A knock on the door prevented Derek from questioning her further. Richard Webber opened the door and entered his office.

"Dr. Webber!" Aden's face lit up when she saw him.

"Hello, Aden," he returned. "How are you?"

She shrugged. "Alright. You? Haven't seen you in awhile."

He nodded. "I'm good. Busy."

'_Of course you are. You're just like Derek.' _Aden turned her attention back to the man who was her father by name and genetics, nothing else. When neither of them said anything for a few minutes, Richard spoke up.

"I think there's some damage control you need to take of," he said to Derek.

Taking his eyes off of Aden, Derek replied, "Shit! Meredith." He stood up and looked at Richard. It had only been three weeks ago when Addison showed up and broke the news to Meredith that she was sleeping with a married man. Addison had left only two days later, but damage had already been done; the entire surgical staff knew about Derek's inappropriate relationship with the intern. Now, Meredith was pissed at him and had barely spoken to him since. Here was one more thing that she'd found out about accidentally. There was going to be hell to pay.

A few minutes later, Aden watched as Derek led Meredith by the arm down the hall. Meredith was clearly pissed, if not shocked. When they reached the end of the hall they turned the corner. Aden turned around to see Alex and the other interns staring at her from a few feet away.

"Guess none of you knew about me," she suggested. When they didn't respond she continued. "That's no surprise; my parents like to pretend I don't exist." She said it with a smile, but Alex could see the pain behind it.

"Stevens! Yang! O'Malley! Karev!" The voice came from the down hall. As the woman got closer, Aden saw on her white coat that she was Dr. Miranda Bailey. _'Wow, what she lacks in height she sure makes up for in attitude' _Aden thought as the interns seemed to shrink in fear as the woman got closer. "What are standing around for? You've got work to do!" Dr. Bailey yelled. "Yang, O'Malley, in the pit! Stevens, Karev go check on Mr. Johnson!" Three of the four interns scattered as Dr. Bailey proceeded down the hall.

"Aden," Alex said, stepping towards her. Her eyes were laced with pain, yet no one but him seemed to notice. What was it about this girl that had captured his attention the moment he spotted her on that elevator only a few hours ago? Something about her called out to him. She turned to face him.

"Karev!" This time Dr. Bailey's voice was louder. "Mr. Johnson. Now!"

"Sounds like you better go," Aden said.

"Yeah," Alex agreed. "Guess I better." Aden turned to walk away. "Aden, I'll just talk to you later, okay?"

"Sure. See ya, Alex."


	3. Chapter 3

"First you have a wife and now you have a kid?!" Meredith's voice echoed down the otherwise empty stairwell. She had let Derek drag her here; why she didn't know. At first she didn't want to believe Richard. There was no way Derek had a daughter. But, when Derek proceeded to apologize over and over again, she had to face reality. When she had found out three weeks that her lover was indeed married, she'd been pissed; they hadn't slept together since then. She barely talked to him. But he'd been working his charm and she found herself missing him more and more each day. She had even accepted his invitation to dinner tonight. But now… now it would take hell freezing over before she ever found herself falling victim to his charm again.

"Meredith," Derek said, placing his hands on her cheeks and directing her face to look at him. "I wanted to tell you. Really, I—"

Meredith shook her head and stepped away from him. "No! Don't lie to me. If you wanted to tell me you would have."

"Meredith," Derek pleaded.

"No, Derek." She opened the door leading to the hallway. "Don't touch me. Don't talk to me. Don't even come near me." With that, she left.

But Derek wasn't going to let her go without a fight. He followed her down the hallway, taking note of who else was around them, being careful to not draw too much attention to them or the fact that they were in, if nothing else, a heated argument that could very well determine the future of their relationship.

He saw Meredith look over her shoulder then pick up her pace. He followed her closely until she turned and pushed open the door to the women's restroom. Stepping inside, she collided with someone else.

"Sor—" Meredith started to say until she noticed that it was Derek's daughter who she'd run into. Meredith stared at the girl for a few moments then pushed past her. Aden shook her head in response then stepped into the hallway, letting the door shut behind her. She took two steps and stopped when she saw Derek standing there.

"I take it that didn't go well?" Aden asked. When he sighed instead of answering her, she continued. "If you didn't pretend I don't exist maybe—"

Derek held up his hand. "Not now, Aden!" Then he walked away.

"Okay, sure, no problem," Aden said to herself. "Guess I'll just go back to waiting." She headed back to the waiting room to the corner where her bags were still stowed. Sitting down, she picked up her backpack and began rummaging through it. After a few minutes of no luck, she zipped the bag shut and set it on top of her duffel. _'Damn, forgot I had to leave them back in New York.' _Sighing she sat back in her chair and glanced around at the other people in the room.

Across the room from her, a little boy no more than five years old was kneeling in front of a chair, running his Matchbox cars over the vinyl covering of the chair. His father sat nearby. In the opposite corner, a twenty-something man was sitting, head bent, hands folded. Near the door, an elderly woman sat; a younger woman, who Aden assumed was her daughter, next to her. From what she'd heard earlier, there was a good chance that all of them could leave here tonight grieving.

'_God, I hate hospitals.' _Aden stood up and put her backpack over one shoulder. Hoisting the duffel bag up over her other shoulder, she left the room. She opted to take the stairs this time, passing Dr. Webber's office as she did.

"Aden!" Several feet past his office, she heard his voice and turned around to face him. "Sneaking off? What's your father going to say when he goes looking for you?"

'_Like he'll even care' _"Just tell Derek I'll be downstairs… waiting for him."

An hour later, Alex found himself leaving the hospital along with Izzie, George, and Meredith. Pulling his hood up over his head he noticed a familiar figure to his right. He slowed down his pace, falling behind his friends. "Hey, guys; give me a few," he told them before turning and heading to his right.

Sitting underneath the overhang on the brick wall was Aden; Alex headed over to her. Reaching her, he said, "Don't you know that kills?"

Blowing out a puff of cigarette smoke, Aden replied, "So does second-hand smoke. Way I see it it's better to go out on my own accord." Grabbing the cigarette pack from the spot beside her, she offered it to him. "Want one?"

Alex shook his head. "No, thanks." As raindrops began falling again, he hopped up onto the wall beside her. "I think your dad's looking for you."

'_I doubt it'_ Aden decided to change the subject."They look pissed," she said, motioning towards the group of interns sharing an umbrella in the middle of the lighted pathway leading towards the parking lot. Putting her cigarette out, she continued, "You probably shouldn't be talking to me."

"Don't worry about them. They just…"

"Hate Derek?" she asked. _'Join the club'_ "I'm sorry your friend—Meredith—had to find out like this."

"It's not your—" Alex was interrupted by Derek, who shouted at his daughter.

"Aden!" Derek walked up to them. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you for the last ten minutes." Noticing Alex, he greeted, "Karev." Alex nodded in reply.

"I've been here the whole time."

"Richard said you'd be downstairs."

"Yeah; last I checked outside was downstairs," Aden shot back.

Derek shook his head. "Don't be a smartass. Grab your bag and let's go." He picked up her duffel bag and started walking away, not even bothering to check if she was following.

Jumping off the wall, she grabbed her backpack and slung it over one shoulder. "I guess I'll see you around," she told Alex before turning to walk away. Turning back, she thanked Alex although he had no idea what for. Then she turned and ran to catch up with Derek.

"So, how long is your break from school?" Derek asked, glancing over at the girl sitting in the passenger seat of his car. They were nearly home and it was the first time either of them had opened their mouth. Belatedly he realized he'd been less than welcoming—unkind really—to her. But he hadn't been prepared for this. He never was.

"You haven't seen me in over a year and you already want to get rid of me?" Aden said. "Don't worry, Derek, I wish I wasn't here too."

Derek sighed. "Does everything coming out of your mouth have to be sarcastic?" He shook his head. "That's not what I meant and you know it."

Aden wanted to call him on it; tell him he was only lying to himself but she knew it was futile. So instead she used the darkness of the night to mask the rolling of her eyes.

"So?" Derek repeated.

"Uh," Aden hesitated. "Indefinitely."

Stopping at a red light, Derek turned, gaping at her. "Indefinitely? What the hell does that mean? What did you do?"

Aden took a deep breath. "Expulsion is what happened."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This is un-beta'd and the chapter that I like the least, so far. Please give feedback, good or bad so I know what I'm doing wrong.

* * *

"You were expelled?!" Derek yelled as he stepped on the gas. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Aden sighed. _'What's wrong with me? God, Derek, there's too many things. Where would I even begin?' _She chose not answer him and, instead, turned her attention to the scenery passing by. She knew how this was going to end. It was bad enough that she was expelled and that he'd been surprised by her showing up; now that his girlfriend was pissed at him would only make things worse. Aden knew she'd receive the brunt of his anger; hell, she'd come to expect it after all these years.

"Do you have any idea how much you're throwing away? You go to the best prep school in the country and you get expelled?!" Derek continued his rant as he turned onto a side road. "I spent so much money—"

"That's right, Derek, I did it just to throw all that money you invested on my education down the drain," Aden interrupted sarcastically. In fact, the cost of her tuition had been the last thing on her mind when she had done all the things she did. Why did he always make everything out to be all about him?

"What did you do, Aden?" Derek asked, forcing himself to calm down, and not bothering to mention her sarcasm yet again. "And why didn't I get a phone call from Dean Wilkes or anyone else at Berkely for that matter?"

Aden shrugged. "They called Addison; guess they thought the absent mother in New York was better than the absent father in Seattle."

Derek was so pissed that it didn't even occur to him that she had just referred to him and Addison as her parents for the first time in years. All he cared about was that Addison knew and hadn't bothered to call him. He understood that she didn't want to talk to him; he didn't want to talk to her either. But this involved Aden; he had a right to know what was going on.

"What did you do?" Derek repeated, coming to a stop in front of his trailer.

"You live in a trailer?" Aden asked, incredulity clouding her expression, as she took in his residence. "You make two million dollars a year and you live in a trailer?" _'Great, this just keeps getting better.'_

* * *

Drying her hair with the towel, Aden started to push the bathroom door open. She stopped when she heard Derek's voice. Leaving the door open just a crack, she sat down on the toilet sit. Normally she wasn't one for eavesdropping. But since she was the topic he was talking about, she figured what the hell.

"It's only one month into the semester and she's expelled! Don't tell me you don't know what she did, Addison." Aden listened, trying to piece together what her mother was saying on the other end of the phone. As far as she knew, Addison had never been told why she'd been expelled. If she had, then she was surprised it hadn't been brought up on that two hour car ride back to the Brownstone in Manhattan.

_It had only been six hours since Aden was told she was being expelled from Berkeley Prep. Ten hours ago she had been detained by several of the campus security guards and forced to wait inside Dean Thomas Wilkes office. After a painstakingly slow hour of waiting, he showed up, holding a thick manila folder; her student record. Hers was thicker than most; it contained numerous records of academic merits, scholarships won, internships awarded, perfect test scores. Simply put, she was one of the most intelligent students to ever walk through the doors of the school. Had everything been based on academic record alone, she'd still be enrolled. But where most people would use their above average intelligence to get ahead in life, Aden used it to come up with creative ways to break the rules. And, in the end, instead of being her most useful ally, her intelligence became her downfall._

_Addison showed up at seven a.m. sharp this morning. Aden's bags were packed and she was sitting once again in the Dean's office. Expecting Addison to meet with Dean Wilkes first, Aden had been surprised when she picked up her backpack and told Aden to get her butt in the car now. Aden had no choice but to pick up her duffel bag and follow. _

_As they pulled out of the parking lot, Addison began yelling. "Do you have any idea how many appointments I had scheduled for today? Not to mention the surgery I'm supposed to be in right now!" Before she could continue, her cell phone rang. Grabbing it out of her purse, Addison answered it. "I know, I know. Look, it's going to take me two hours to get back to the city, then I have to drop my kid at the airport. I'll be back for my 11 o'clock." _

_When she hung up the phone a few minutes later, Aden wasted no time opening her mouth. "You're taking me to the airport?!" _

_Addison merged onto I-87, heading south towards Newburgh. "Yes; you're going to stay with your father."_

"_No!" Aden had protested. "That's not fair!" They continued to argue the entire rest of the car ride. When they pulled to a stop outside of the Northwest Airlines terminal at JFK, Aden grabbed her ticket out of Addison's hands, and jumped out of the car. She had been so angry she wanted to get as far away from Addison as possible, even if that meant having to go to Seattle. _

'_God, I can't believe that was only this morning.' _Aden thought as she heard Derek's voice raise once again as he yelled at Addison one last time before hanging up. Aden waited a few minutes before exiting the bathroom. When she did, Derek was standing at the stove, finishing dinner. She walked past him, to her bags on the floor near the door.

"Dinner's almost ready," Derek told her as she began rummaging through her backpack. "And, if you're looking for the pack of cigarettes I got rid of them."

Aden stood up and turned to face him, fire in her eyes. "You went through my stuff?"

"You don't need to smoke."

"I don't care! That's my stuff. You have no right to—" she began yelling.

"Like hell I don't!" Derek interrupted, turning off the burner. Facing her, he continued, "As long as you're living in my house I have a right to know about everything pertaining to you. What you're doing, who you hang out with, if you're smoking, why you got expelled…" he trailed off.

"Since when do you care what I'm doing, what's going on in my life?" Aden asked. "You haven't talked to me in over a year!"

"Aden," Derek started.

"Just send me back to New York and we'll both be happy!" Aden screamed.

Derek took a deep breath to calm himself. "I can't do that, Aden." His eyes met hers for the first time all night.

"You operate on people's brains everyday and you can't send me back home? That's bullshit."

"First off, watch your mouth. Second, I'm not sending you back to New York," Derek told her, turning back to the stove. "Now, come over here and fix your plate."

Aden shook her head. "No."

Derek looked at her again. "Don't tell me no."

"Why not? You had no problem saying no to me. 'No, I won't be able to make it to parents weekend.' 'No, you can't come home for the weekend.' 'No, you—"

Derek interrupted. "Aden," he started. "Please, let's not do this. Let's just eat dinner and get through tonight in peace. Please."

Aden stared at him for a few moments. Then, her voice barely above a whisper, she said, "I just want to go home. Please."

"I know you do, Aden. But, you're…" he started, then rethought what he wanted to say. "Look, I'm trying here, Aden. Okay?"

Aden shook her head, both to dispute his statement and to clear her eyes of the tears threatening to fall. "It's a little too late for that, don't you think?" she muttered, before opening the door and heading out into the rain.


	5. Chapter 5

It was raining heavily. Minutes earlier it had been thundering, but now there was just the flow of water down the car windows. Aden followed a trickle of water as it made its' way down the passenger window. Resting her head against the cool glass, she closed her eyes for the remainder of the drive, wishing she could fall asleep.

She had slept restlessly on the small couch- if it could even be called a couch- after insisting to sleep in the jeep then refusing the bed when Derek offered it to her. The couch hadn't been all that uncomfortable but her brain had refused to slow down long enough for her to get some sleep. And now, here she was, headed back to spend another boring day in the waiting room of Seattle Grace. She had suggested to Derek that she stay in the trailer all day but he had argued. Not that she would admit it or anything but he had been right when he said that she would most likely end up exploring the streets of Seattle instead of staying put all day.

She had planned on packing up in the middle of the night and heading to the airport. Running away to New York was the perfect plan in her mind. She'd escape Derek and also be able to avoid Addison; she had several friends in the city and any of them would have taken her in. But, pulling her wallet out of the bag, she found that her credit cards were gone. Derek had taken those along with her cigarettes.

Pulling into his reserved parking spot and turning the car off, Derek looked at Aden. "No funny business. No attitude. Got it?"

Aden rolled her eyes before looking at him. "Whatever," she mumbled, pulling the hood of her jacket up to cover her head. She pushed open the door, grabbing her backpack off the floor, then stepped out into the rain, slamming the car door behind her. Before Derek exited the car, Aden was running across the parking lot toward the hospital entrance.

The elevator door opened revealing Meredith leaning against the back wall behind three other doctors. Her head was bent, reviewing a chart, so she did not see Derek as he stepped in. On the next floor, the doctors got out, leaving the two of them alone. As the doors closed, Derek moved so he was standing next to her, essentially hovering over her.

"Meredith."

Meredith looked up, hurt in her eyes. "Derek."

He took a deep breath. "Look, I know you're mad and you have every right to be, but please let me explain." He gazed into her eyes with that sexy, passionate look of his.

Meredith shook her head. There was no way she could let herself be won over by his charm and concern. "Explain, Derek? Don't you think it's too late for that? You had your chance; you should've told me about her when your wife showed up. You should have told me about her—about both of them—from the beginning." The elevator dinged signaling Meredith's floor and, with only a mere second glance at him, she stepped off the elevator, leaving Derek to sigh and lean back against the wall.

"How much longer are you gonna be?" It was the first full sentence she had said to him all day, and Derek knew she wouldn't be happy with his response.

"A couple of hours, Aden."

"You should've left me at the damn trailer; at least then I could be watching tv or something instead of being stuck in this boring ass place," she replied, not caring how much of an attitude she was giving him or who was within hearing distance of them.

Derek chose to ignore her cursing, if only because he was too tired and stressed to have to deal with it. "There's a tv in the waiting room."

"Yeah, there is," she agreed, "but the only thing on is the news."

Derek checked his watch as he opened the patient chart lying on the counter. "Did you finish your homework?" This morning he had opened Aden's textbooks and put together a rough lesson plan for the rest of the week. It would hold her over until he had time to speak with Addison regarding their daughter. If Aden would, in fact, be staying in Seattle with him, he would need to enroll in her a local school. If he was going to send her back to New York to stay with her mother, then Addison would be responsible for that. Either way, Aden would still be getting an education; Derek's lesson plan would ensure that.

"Yeah," she answered, "like four hours ago."

Derek sighed. "Get a head start on tomorrow's then," he suggested.

"This sucks. Can't you just take me back to the trailer real quick, then come back here?"

He shook his head. "No; I have to be in surgery in half an hour."

Before she could protest again, Alex approached them. "Excuse me. Dr. Shepard, I don't mean to interrupt."

"What is it Karev?" Derek asked.

"I'm getting off in an hour. I'm just going to go get a pizza before heading home for the night. I thought maybe- if it's okay with you- I'd take Aden with me." Alex looked at Aden to see if she was interested and a small smile danced across her face, then continued. "I know this isn't any of my business, but I couldn't help but overhear. Aden's bored and you have to be in surgery."

"Karev," Derek started.

Alex held up his hands. "I'm just trying to help both of you."

Derek thought for a moment, looking at his daughter who had moments ago smiled for the first time all day. He wasn't quite sure why Alex was offering to take Aden off his hands for awhile. But, for some reason, Aden looked grateful- happy even- for Alex's offer. The more he thought about it maybe it was a good idea. Alex was living at Meredith's. Aden would be there after pizza. He'd have to pick her up there. Maybe the only way to get Meredith to hear him out would be if she didn't have anywhere to run to. Her house was perfect for that.

"Okay, Karev. If it's okay with Aden, it's okay with me."


End file.
